Canadian Housing Policies (1935-1980), by Albert Rose, Toronto: Butterworths, 1980.

My concern here not being mainly statistical, is with a description of the role of governments and the changing shifts and currents in policy which are a consequence of political, economic and social forces.

Housing policy has not merely arrived as a political phenomenon in terms of appeals to the electorate for favour or rejection, but is an important component of intergovernmental relationships, and a significant aspect of economic, social and political considerations at a time in Canadian history when the central issues are said to be those of inflation and unemployment.

From the outset, my objective has been to clarify the nature of Canadian housing policies, formulated by government and emerging from the struggle for hegemony between the various levels of government, primarily by tracing the history of legislation and its implementation.

Members of the private residential housebuilding industry make decisions concerning their annual and five-year plans for land purchase and ultimate housebuilding activity; by doing so they may affect materially the supply and cost of housing. However, all their plans are very significantly influenced by the actions of government. That is not to deny that the lobbying or public information role of very large economic units in the housing industry may be considerable, or that their land acquisition policies have important economic and social consequences. It is rather to indicate the major emphasis of this work: government policies. 

I cannot offer any simple or guaranteed .solution to the dilemmas which face Canada, its provinces and municipalities, in the continuous efforts of providing adequate housing accommodation for various income groups in Canadian society. While I am all too conscious of our many deficiencies in this field, Canada also has much to be proud of in its record of accomplishment. The variety of regions and regional jurisdictions within the vast geographical area which is Canada and a whole gamut of international and national economic forces challenge our capacity to provide human and physical services for our people. To acknowledge that challenge is not to accept defeat.

The ultimate solution to Canada's housing dilemma lies in an aspiration. There must be a fundamental change in the attitude of Canadians towards housing in general. Housing must be provided for all members of society, not only for those who have adequate resources to meet their own needs. This proposition must take the form of a concept of housing as a public service.

In the language of social administration, housing must be regarded as a "social utility" - a requirement of all people which must be provided by the society for all its people. Housing accommodation must be viewed as we conceive the requirement that supplies of pure water be provided to all, that facilities be made available to dispose of waste products through sewage treatment, that roadways, sidewalks and street lighting be provided, and that educational facilities be available for children. The truth is that without decent and adequate food, without clothing appropriate for our climatic conditions and without housing accommodation adequate in both physical and social terms, all other public and social utilities are eminently wasted.

It is not easy to formulate a statement of solution, although the words come easy. The problem is one of maintaining a balance between optimism and dire pessimism. As a serious student of Canada's housing progress during the past forty years I find it very difficult to be optimistic but it would be fatalism to be otherwise.